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Inventing Mormonism: Tradition and the Historical Record

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Marquardt and Walters are able to do a stupendous job detailing how Joseph Smith, Jr. was able to "invent Mormonism." After reading this, I must hand it to Smith--his charisma was able to convince many people of his day that he really did hear from God. The sources about Smith's treasure hunting are good, as the authors did plenty of digging up of details, and everything is fully documented in the endnotes. As LDS researcher Richard Bushman puts it, the book "assembles material that has not been part of the record before." What the reader sees here is neither doctored history nor anti-Mormon rhetoric, but rather factual details that ought to be considered when researching the roots of early Mormonism. This is a readable book, sure to keep one's interest, and I do recommend it highly.

An exhaustively documented and detailed study of the first days of Mormonism. Marquardt and Walters contend that much of the early history of Mormonism, as told by Joseph Smith, was invented after the fact. They show how Smith's early theologies were immersed in the occult, and how the religious revivals that supposedly inspired Smith could not have happened when he said they did. Very tightly argued, and very controversial. A devastating critique of the official story of Mormon origins.

The documention is second to none, nice to have such attention to research detail. I want historical authors to thrash all available sources and let me draw my own inferences.

This book seems to give as much historical information as is available on the Smith Family, Joseph included.The research is very exhaustive and as such points out several glairing inconsistancies in the accepted history of Mormonism.

The book's subtitle, "Tradition and the Historical Record," sums it all up very well.

The authors take an amazingly detailed look at the traditional history of the Mormon Church (pre 1830 for the most part), and compare it closely with contemporary documents. (i.e. property deeds, census, etc.)

In order to really understand this book, you may consider using a whiteboard to draw out the timelines. This should help you to understand the contradictions between what the traditional record is, and what historical records reveal. Otherwise, you will probably have a potpourri of dates shuffling around your head.

Very detailed and difficult to get into.
It belabors chronological events to the point of boredom. This said, it is a necessary exercise to determine the timing of events such as the First Vision of Joseph Smith, the visit of Moroni, etc.

Just don't read it passively. It's insightful and mostly balanced.
Though it does rely heavily on Eber Howe's biased affidavits regarding Joseph Smith's involvement in treasure digging. I remain unconvinced of their inherent historical value.

I do recommend the book, Inventing Mormonism, by H. Michael Marquardt and Wesley Walters. The book traces the historical beginnings of Mormonism and focuses on the time of Joseph Smith, Jr. and the times in which he first received his "first revelation" and the founding of the LDS Church. The book shows the times in which Smith lived and built his church. It shows how the world view of many during that time was suitable to allow a dreamer such as Smith to come along.

Mormons themselves will find that much of this book is buried in history. No doubt the official LDS Church position on this book will denounce the book and will say that it just attacking Smith as the prophet of God. Yet I have found that the authors have sought to avoid giving their opinions of Smith though I am sure that Walters, in particular, was opposed to Smith as he was a Presbyterian minister (Walters is now deceased).

The book has many historical evidences and quotes to show what people living around Joseph Smith, Jr. thought of him and his visions. What did people think of Smith preaching that an angel had appeared to him and given him a revelation about the Book of Mormon? What did people think of the early LDS Church and Smith's many revelations and visions? What did people think of Smith as a person? What was his personality? All these questions are answered in this book.

I do highly recommend this book.

H. Michael Marquardt is the author of books such as The Rise of Mormonism: 1816-1844, The use of the Bible in the Book of Mormon: And, early nineteenth century events reflected in the Book of Mormon, The Joseph Smith Egyptian Papers. Compiled by H. Michael Marquardt., The Book of Abraham Papyrus Found, etc. Wesley P. Walters is the author of New light on Mormon origins from Palmyra New York revival, Joseph Smith among the Egyptians, Joseph Smith's Bainbridge, N. Y., court trials: And From occult to cult with Joseph Smith, Jr, The human origins of the Book of Mormon, An Examination of B. H. Roberts' Secret Manuscript, Contains an Article By Wesley P. Walters and Photographs from Roberts' Original Manuscript, Mormonism: Exposed, etc.

The authors write in the preface to this 1994 book, "This book is the result of many years of research into the early history of the Joseph Smith family and the origins of the Mormon church. Our primary objective has been to find and present historical records, such as tax lists and censuses, and recollections of people living at the time and place where Mormonism began. We were interested not only in Mormonism specifically but also in the general social and intellectual climate of western New York during the 1820s. By evaluating the body of this documentary material as a whole we hope to bring new insights to the study of Mormon beginnings."

Here are some additional quotations from the book:

"The 1824-1825 revival likewise received enthusiastic write-ups in an equal number of publications. But there is total silence in these same periodicals about any revival in Palmyra between 1819 and 1821." (Pg. 19)
"(P)erhaps (Joseph) Smith in retrospect blended in his mind events from 1820 with a revival occurring four years later. But the problems caused by the dating discrepancy are fundamental ones. The date for the revival provides the circumstances and motivation leading to the first vision and allows the four annual visits to the hill Cumorah, beginning in September 1823 and leading to Smith's obtaining the plates in September 1827." (Pg. 32)
"...it is clear from the testimonies recorded ... that young Smith had for several years earned part of his livelihood by hiring out as a glass looker to locate hidden treasures by gazing into his seer stone." (Pg. 75)
"Clearly the gold plates story had been repeated outside the Smith family before September 1827, and no doubt seemed familiar to those who heard it and were acquainted with stories about the treasure-digging activities of the Smith family." (Pg. 96)
"Before Joseph deposited the artifact in the chest, he permitted the family to feel and handle the plates. William Smith remembered that he 'did not see them [the plates] uncovered but I handled them and hefted them while [they were] wrapped in a tow frock.'" (Pg. 124)
"While at the Smith home, Harris hefted the plates and thought that they weighed about forty or fifty pounds." (Pg. 125)

This book comes across as an incomplete work, and as a result, it leaves the reader hanging. H. Michael Marquardt completes this work with his later published book: "The Rise of Mormonism: 1816-1844". Having bought both, this first purchase was a waste of money as everything it contains is found within the latter (Note: I could just end my review here).

That aside, I was also disappointed on another front. The book's subtitle, "Tradition and the Historical Record" implies a comparison being made between what is the traditional record - Mormon history as taught by Mormons, and the historical record - the actual history as documented by actual records and accounts. From my reading, very little comparison is made, beyond the topic of the official "First Vision" and religious revivals in the Smith's neighbourhood around 1820-1825.

I strongly disagree with previous reviews which states "An exhaustively documented and detailed study", "Very tightly argued, and very controversial" and "This book seems to give as much historical information as is available on the Smith Family". I personally didn't find this book to be either "exhaustive", "very tightly (or otherwise) argued" or "controversial". The book is definitely the result of many hours (years?) of historical research, and this is a big plus. But as a book covering the topic of Mormon history, it covers only a sniff of what's documented in other published research.

For reference, below are the chapter headings showing what topics are covered:

The Joseph Smith, Sr. Family
A Chronology of Mormon Origins

Chapter 1. The Move to Palmyra and Manchester, New York
Chapter 2. The Palmyra Revival
Chapter 3. Secular and Religious Background
Chapter 4. Manchester Scryer
Chapter 5. The Treasure
Chapter 6. Smith Family Activities
Chapter 7. Restoring the Church of Christ
Chapter 8. Expressions of Faith
Conclusion

APPENDICES:
1. Joseph Smith's 1832 Account of His Early Life
2. Interview of Martin Harris
3. Memorandum of John H. Gilbert

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL ESSAY
1. Smith Family Recollections
2. The 1826 Examination

Don't make the same mistake I did. If you're thinking of making this a purchase, reconsider the more complete title mentioned above.

"Inventing Mormonism" by H. Michael Marquardt and Wesley P. Walters is a controversial book claiming that the true origins of the Mormon religion were, to say the least, substantially different from the official accounts of the Mormon (LDS) Church. Mormons claim to be the only true Christians, and at least to disinterested outsiders, they certainly look like conservative, family-oriented, and frankly boring Christians.

But are they? Or, better put: What were the origins of Mormonism? Marquardt and Walters believe (as do many others) that the Mormon prophet Joseph Smith was inspired by folk magic and occultism. The entire story about how he was contacted by an angel and found a secret document engraved on golden plates in Hill Cumorah is inspired by magical notions common in Upstate New York at the time. Later, Joseph Smith published a sanitized and Christianized version of these events. The authors quote many documents to prove their point.

In the area where Joseph Smith grew up, there was a widely believed folk tradition about hidden treasures. Various magical and occult notions were connected to this belief. To localize the treasure, a seer stone placed in a black hat was used. By gazing into the stone (a technique known as scrying), the treasure hunter would get a vision of where the gold was buried. Another method was to get the vision in a dream, which repeated itself for three nights. Once the treasure was located, it was necessary to deal with its guardian spirit. If it was malevolent, a magical circle was drawn around the spot where the treasure was located, and various magical formulas incanted. If the spirit was benevolent, one had to follow its instructions to the letter to get hold of the treasure. These instructions were often pretty strange: the treasure hunter would have to dress in black, ride a black horse, take a close relative to a designated spot, etc. The guardian spirit could be contacted three years in a row, but not more than that, and always on the same date.

According to "Inventing Mormonism", Joseph Smith's famous search for the Book of Mormon was organized according to these magical instructions. Willard Chase, a neighbour of the Smith family, wrote a statement in 1833 about how Joseph Smith had found the golden plates at which the message of Mormon was supposedly engraved. Chase's version of events is very different from the official one. He claims to have gotten his information from Joseph Smith's father, also named Joseph Smith. According to Chase, young Joseph had been contacted by a spirit rather than an angel. The spirit had instructed Joseph to dress in black, ride a black horse, and conjure up the Book of Mormon by reciting a magical formula. When he had the book in his possession, he was supposed to leave at once, without looking back, and not to place the book on the ground. Naturally, Joseph Smith made this mistake, at which point the book mysteriously vanished. Smith soon found the book again, back in the crate he had taken it from the first time. When he attempted to remove the book a second time, the spirit attacked him. Apparently, the spirit had first taken the form of a toad, and later that of a man. Finally, the spirit told Smith to come back one year later (on the same date), accompanied by his brother Alvin. Unfortunately, Alvin died before the designated date, and when Joseph returned alone, the spirit once again told him to wait another year, and bring another person, whose identity was to be magically revealed later.

Another neighbour, Fayette Lapham, told a similar story in 1870. In Lapham's version, the spirit had appeared to Joseph Smith in a dream. The spirit was dressed in bloodstained clothes, apparently because he was the spirit of a person murdered at the exact spot where the treasure was hidden. Lapham adds an interesting detail: the second person the spirit commanded Joseph to bring to Hill Cumorah was none other than Emma Hale, Joseph's future wife. Emma Hale's cousins Hiel and Joseph Lewis also wrote about what really happened when Joseph Smith found the Book of Mormon, and in their version the ghost had a long beard, a slit throat, and a bloodstained body. The toad makes a comeback in a statement by Benjamin Saunders (a friend of the Smith family), made in 1884. In this version, the toad and the spirit are adversaries, rather than identical. When Joseph Smith had finally secured the golden plates, he was said to have been attacked by a demon in the form of a toad.

What are we to make of these testimonies? The fact that Mormonism was intensely controversial, and that many of the statements were made decades later, could be used as evidence against them. On the other hand, there was a widespread belief in folk magic and hidden treasure in the area around Palmyra, New York State, where Joseph Smith lived. It's also more or less conclusively proven that Joseph Smith owned one or several seer stones. Nor was he a stranger to making up new revelations, or revising old ones, as he went along. It's also a well-established fact that Joseph Smith was a treasure hunter before he founded Mormonism.

What's really intriguing, is that even the official Mormon version of events has certain affinities with the folk beliefs. What other religion claims that its founder, instructed by an angel, dug up a mysterious, treasure-like sacred scripture from a nearby hill? Is it really a coincidence that this particular religion emerged in an area where superstitious treasure hunting was common, and that it was founded by a man who originally believed in the practice himself? Here are some parallels between the official story and the alternative versions referred to above. When the angel Moroni first appeared to Joseph Smith, he told Smith that he would find two stones together with the golden plates, and that these stones had been used by ancient seers. In other words, they were seer stones! When Moroni spoke to Joseph Smith, he got a supernatural vision of Hill Cumorah, and saw the exact spot where the golden plates were hidden. In the same way, a treasure hunter could get a dream vision of the whereabouts of the treasure. Further, Moroni appeared to Smith three times during the course of one night. In folk magic, a dream that was repeated three times was believed to be true. When Joseph Smith finally went to Cumorah, dug up the crate and attempted to remove the plates, the angel prohibited it, and informed him that he wouldn't be allowed to get possession of the plates until four years had passed. However, he also had to return to Cumorah on the same date, four years in a row. Compare this to folk beliefs about the spirits giving strange instructions, or the idea that it could take three years to get hold of a treasure.

The main difference between Joseph Smith's version and the alternative versions, is that Joseph's own story is purged of all references that could be interpreted as ambivalent, evil or scary. There are no bloodstained dresses, black horses or sorcery, and definitely no toads! Are we to believe the documents quoted in this book, Joseph Smith originally told the story in the usual superstitious idiom of his peers. Later, when he was the leader of a growing "Christian" group, this version could have become an embarrassment, so he published a more innocent version. The magician and treasure hunter became a pious Christian prophet communing with shining angelic beings.

It seems as if Mormonism was originally a religion based on the belief in haunted treasure. Now, the truth is out to haunt Mormonism.

An in-depth look at Joseph Smith's world and how it shaped the founder of the LDS. An interesting read for those interested in Mormon history.

Just the Facts Please
Reviewed by Richard L. Bushman
Provo, Utah: FARMS, 1994. Pp. 122-33

The title of Inventing Mormonism arouses expectations that are not actually realized in the reading of the book. Latter-day Saints use verbs like revealed or restored to explain how Mormonism came about. The word inventing implies that somebody concocted Mormonism; it was made up by an inventor of religion. The name of Wesley Walters as second author increases the expectation that the book will tell how Joseph Smith invented his visions, the doctrines, the Book of Mormon�� whole story. Walters's 1969 Dialogue essay on the Palmyra revival had concluded with the thought that Joseph got mixed up about the date of the revival?saying it was 1819-20 rather than 1824 when the records all say it happened?because he was fabricating the story of the vision. The logical extension of this line of attack would be to discover more contradictions between the "tradition" that Joseph made up about himself and the facts of the "historical record." The tone of the book would be iconoclastic, skeptical, and argumentative, and the book would expose Joseph Smith in the act of inventing the Mormon religion.

If Wesley Walters had not died in 1990, the book might have taken that tack. Walters had a debater's temperament. He loved to take on an opponent's proposition and score points against it. A mild-mannered, courteous explication of historical documents would not have been to his taste. Michael Marquardt writes in another spirit. He makes no effort to show Joseph making up Mormonism. Marquardt claims only that "as the documents reveal, some events differed from what has been traditionally taught." He explicitly refuses to say Joseph was a charlatan: "we have long since abandoned the simple prophet-fraud dichotomy that others still find so compelling. Our intent is to understand, not to debunk" (p. 197). Marquardt rejects the conscious-fraud hypothesis; in his opinion Joseph was sincere. "Smith believed that he spoke with supernatural beings, and he produced impressive transcripts of interviews with them. Whether he actually did is ultimately a matter of faith" (pp. 197-98).

Marquardt and Walters have searched the archives for thirty years looking for documents related to Joseph Smith's story of his evolution from farm boy to prophet. In that time, they have dug up a lot of material, not elaborate new reminiscences, but tiny fragments, like Joseph Smith, Sr.'s, name on a Palmyra road tax list. These small clues can be helpful, especially when there are questions about the exact location of the family at a given time. Since Joseph Smith looms so large today, we want to know everything about him. For the early years before he stepped into his public role, these tiny details are especially valuable. The authors deserve full credit for their arduous search and for adding new material to the record of Joseph Smith.

The chief target of Marquardt's and Walters's analysis is the story Joseph wrote about his early life in 1838, the familiar account now found in the Pearl of Great Price. In their prologue, the authors quote the story in its unedited form up through the first meeting with the messenger at Cumorah in 1823. Although Marquardt and Walters deal with events through the fall of 1830, they highlight this account of the early years as the core of the "tradition" against which they wish to compare the "historical record."
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